My New Polyphaga aegyptiaca

[BringontheBugs]

Hi Everybody!

I received 8 very young P. aegyptiaca nymphs yesterday. There are very tiny and are only about 4 millimeters long, and as you can see in the photo they have not gained their color yet. I'm looking forward to starting my colony of Egyptians starting with these little guys!

 

[Hisserdude]

Cool! That substrate looks pretty moist, these guys are supposed to be kept bone dry, you can soak one corner of the cage every other week but other than that they need to be kept really dry.

 

[BringontheBugs]

Thanks for the info! I was told when I bought these that they should be kept slightly moist and that they could dessicate easily at this size.

The moist substrate could explain the deaths that I've been having, I will try to get some of the moisture out as soon as possible.

Hope I can save them!

 

[BringontheBugs]

Dang! When I went to see how many of the nymphs had survived I only saw 2 that were fine, 2 that won't barely move but weren't dead yet, and 4 dead ones!

On a good note though, I should be able to keep those 2 alive for sure and I'm drying out the substrate.

 

[Hisserdude]

Dang! When I went to see how many of the nymphs had survived I only saw 2 that were fine, 2 that won't barely move but weren't dead yet, and 4 dead ones!

On a good note though, I should be able to keep those 2 alive for sure and I'm drying out the substrate.

Yeah, I'd give them a moist spot in the cage since they are so small, but the rest of the substrate should be bone dry. Sorry to hear so many of them died off.

 

[BringontheBugs]

Yeah, I'd give them a moist spot in the cage since they are so small, but the rest of the substrate should be bone dry. Sorry to hear so many of them died off.

Thanks, guess sometimes you got to learn the hard way. I never though that a roach could die because of moist substrate.

Luckily now I know, and my birthday is coming up at the end of the month so I'll be able to replenish my Egyptian semi-colony.  

 

[Hisserdude]

Yeah, several of the desert dwelling Corydiids can easily die from too much moisture, sorry you had to learn like that.  Hope the remaining individuals live, and hopefully you will be able to get more!

 

[BringontheBugs]

Yeah, several of the desert dwelling Corydiids can easily die from too much moisture, sorry you had to learn like that.  Hope the remaining individuals live, and hopefully you will be able to get more!

Thank you!